


long as there are stars above you

by sleeperswake



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: An AU within an AU, F/M, WandaVision AU, but there's a happish ending I promise, things are about to get wonky, things get dark very quickly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 15:33:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30040848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleeperswake/pseuds/sleeperswake
Summary: AU where Levi obtains the power to rewrite reality and bring back the people he’s lost, but at a cost. Based off of WandaVision, spoilers for both the manga and WandaVision, but no need to see or understand WandaVision to read.
Relationships: Levi Ackerman & Petra Ral, Levi Ackerman/Petra Ral
Comments: 10
Kudos: 25





	long as there are stars above you

_“What is grief, if not love persevering?” -Vision, from Marvel’s WandaVision_

“Oh Levi…it’s absolutely beautiful! Can you believe we got so lucky?”

Petra ran towards the front door of their house without a second thought, with the train of her white dress catching on fallen petals from the wind. Her strawberry blonde hair was twirled into an updo, with her veil attached by a sparkling tiara. With wide shining eyes, she giggled with delight as her husband caught her waist before she could take a step further.

“Tch, Petra, you’re getting your dress all dirty. I know we’re not one for tradition, but I thought we could at least do this.” He shifted his arms and her weight so that her arms hung around his neck while also supporting her legs. “It’s called bridal style for a reason,” he whispered into her ear, presenting him with the perfect picture of a blushing bride. Fuck, he loved her so much, and today…Today was their wedding day, and they were also moving into their new home. A small suburban town, just on the outskirts of the city, but close enough to work to where it wasn’t a hassle. He promised her a quiet life after leaving active duty, but she resisted, knowing both of them couldn’t leave the world of the military, and their new jobs would start shortly after their homely honeymoon.

While a honeymoon on a far off island away from civilization was enticing to both of them, what they really wanted was a chance to settle in, get the house together, and make love until they had to return to reality. Levi hadn’t argued when she proposed it, almost sighing with relief at the simple request, and it was decided that they would spend an entire two weeks of uninterrupted love making and tidying up their new home. In short, it was Levi’s heaven.

Jingling with the keys in his back pocket, Levi clicked open the lock to their new home and pushed the yellow door open. The house wasn’t his taste by any means, he would have been happy nearly everywhere, as any place would be an upgrade from the barracks, but this house was so characteristically _Petra_ he couldn’t resist the small house with the yellow door and daffodils planted in the front by its previous owners. When Petra showed him the listing on her phone, he couldn’t say no, it was the right price, area, and most importantly, it made her happy.

“Are you sure it isn’t too girly?” She asked him after the tour and he merely shrugged. He liked the natural light, the little garden patio in the back, and most importantly, a decent sized mud room to store plenty of cleaning supplies. It had a porch in the front for Petra to read in, and a corner pantry to store all of his tea leaves. All in all, it was perfect.

“Welcome to our home, Mrs. Ackerman.” He entered the threshold, still holding her bridal style and looked down at his beautiful, loving, miracle of a wife. Knowing that there was more to come, but not being able to help himself, he leaned down, capturing her lips in a feather light kiss that she immediately reciprocated. Grazing his lips with her tongue, she said breathily, “I could get used to you saying that,” and he reluctantly pulled away and set her gently on the carpeted floor of the living room. She adjusted his cravat and ran her eyes up and down his black fitted suit. Levi was never one for flair, but he thought he looked pretty damn good, and his black ensemble let her wedding dress stand out even more. Sure, she looked like a goddess compared to his short grumpy self, but he didn’t care, since he didn’t blame anyone in the room for not sparing a glance at him while his _wife_ was in the room.

“I had the movers bring in some of furniture we ordered, I hope you don’t mind, but we can rearrange it however you want. I also stocked the fridge with essentials and our bed is made so we can uh…Well, get right to it.” Levi rarely stumbled over his words, he wasn’t sure why speaking to his wife about perfectly normal couple activities were embarrassing at a time like this, but the tears in Petra’s eyes were enough to make him stop overthinking and attend to his bride.

“Hey, what’re the tears for? You’re happy, right? Look, I know you probably have a better eye for this kind of stuff than me, but this is me you’re talking to, lifting a couch isn’t a big deal and we can make sure we put the TV in a spot so you and Nifa can both see it while you paint with Bob Ross. Or maybe we should position it so that when everyone is over we all have a place to sit during Jackbox. Damn, this is going to be more frustrating than I thought, good thing we have two weeks to settle in right? How about this—“

“Levi, stop!” Petra laughed, silencing her husband by pressing her hands to his cheeks and brushing his forehead with her thumb. “I’m just…so happy. I’m glad you’re so concerned about the configuration of our couch and TV, but let’s go to the bedroom for now, okay?”

There were few things that left Levi Ackerman, humanity’s strongest, speechless and tongue tied, but his wife was one of those few things and he mutely nodded as she led him into their bedroom for their first night of marital bliss.

~*~

Levi hummed to himself as he flipped the last pancake for the two stacks he prepared for that morning. After stacking both sets of pancakes, he topped one with strawberries and blueberries and the other with banana and walnuts, the former for Petra and the latter for himself. Pleased with his display, he added the finishing touches by drizzling maple syrup on the top, noting how the glaze was catching the morning light just right. Whipping out his phone, he crouched to get the optimal angle, when a voice interrupted him.

“Are you taking an Instagram photo?” Petra teased, finding her husband adorned in an apron that said _Kiss the Cook_ , courtesy of Hanji. Although her tone was teasing, her voice was filled with mirth as she inspected the pancakes at a closer look.

“Of course not, it’s for archival purposes. I need to remember what I make so I can rate it for future meals.” He sounded so _methodical_ about it, Petra couldn’t help but giggle as she hugged Levi from behind and rested her cheek on his back.

“Well I for one can’t wait to dig in, I’m starving. I must be luckiest wife ever to not only sleep in, but also have breakfast at the ready.” Petra slid in to her side of the kitchen table—right, facing the TV—and began to cut into her pancakes, gleefully noting the fresh strawberries from the farmer’s market they had purchased yesterday.

It had been two weeks since they moved into their new home and between lovemaking, painting, and setting up their new furniture, the Ackermans were moved in and were ready to resume normal life. Levi groaned at having to return to base, even if it were just for a nine to five job, but Petra insisted that Hanji and Erwin must miss him despite not being on active duty. He got the occasional text from both of them, mostly suggestive texts from Hange asking if she was going to be aunt by the time they came back, and Erwin would provide updates and here and there, not necessarily for work, but mostly out of habit. Erwin wasn’t surprised when Levi requested to be taken off Special Ops; he was getting older, and he had mentioned that teaching was something he might be interested in.

“Is it because of Petra?” Erwin had asked him, and Levi remembered the menacing scowl he shot him. Just because Erwin wasn’t surprised didn’t mean he wasn’t happy; he was losing his best pilot, and by proxy, a valuable member of his team. He figured that after years of service that he deserved to be selfish for once.

“It’s something we both decided,” Levi snapped, wondering if he was speaking to his best friend or Commander at that moment, and Erwin merely nodded and stamped the form that finalized his relief him from duty.

“I envy you, Levi. I was in a similar position a few years ago, and to this day, I’m not sure if I regret it or not. Though there’s no hope in wondering for me, she’s married to another man…” Erwin reminisced, giving Levi a sideways glance and Levi shrugged, already hearing this conversation before.

“Like I said, it’s Petra. She deserves my whole heart, not some half assed husband who only comes home every few months.”

“Then why are you the one who put your transfer paperwork in first?”

Wordlessly, Levi picked up the stamped document and inserted it into the official envelope. “I’ll see you at the wedding, Erwin. Don’t be late,” He chided, not sparing Erwin a look as he headed out the door. There was a lot to do before the wedding, and he was using his generous paid time off that he had accumulated.

Snapping from his thoughts, his gaze returned to Petra. The light from their kitchen window caught her hair at the perfect angle, almost creating a halo, and his expression went from troubled to serene. Petra scrolled through her phone as she reached for his hand, interlacing his fingers through hers. “So, I was thinking, with our last weekend before we go back to work, we should invite Isabel and Farlan over! You mentioned Isabel is going back to college soon and we might not see Farlan for a bit since he got that gig in the UK? Maybe we could go to that theme park, what is it called, Underground City?”

“Yeah, Isabel’s wanted to go for awhile.” Levi played with her fingers, noting the smoothness of them. Part of him wanted to pout and tell her exactly how they should spend their weekend, mostly with her in their bed and him pleasuring her, but he couldn’t hide forever. His wife was naturally more social than he was, but he was touched that she wanted to spend time with his childhood friends. Isabel had taken a liking to Petra, going as far as to call her “big sister” to go along with his moniker, and Farlan was just happy Levi had “finally found someone.” Levi wasn’t sure why Farlan had to make him sound like some repulsive bachelor, but he knew he liked Petra the moment that Petra teased him about his cleaning habits and the way he held his teacup.

“I’ll text them now, sound good?” She asked, already thumbing the text out with one hand, and Levi squeezed the other, wondering why he felt like they were on borrowed time. _You went from being ranked number one in the Air Force, now you’re on desk duty. Maybe you weren’t ready to hang up your wings and you can’t handle normal life_. Levi shook the thoughts from his head, knowing that his decision was firm. Both oftheirs was. He put himself in ballsy situations as it is, and her being a similar position was just too much for him. They had several years of service under their belt, far more than the required eight, so he supposed he shouldn’t feel too guilty, but the military was his home. His life was shit before the military, and everything he had he owed to them. _Petra’s your home now,_ he told himself, and with a resigned sigh, he got up, taking their plates.

“Does 12 sound good? Isabel said she’s taking the bus and Farlan is finishing up work.”

Levi leaned over to kiss his wife’s head, breathing in her scent. “Yeah, that’s perfect. Thank you, by the way. I don’t want you to think you’re my social keeper, but I forget about this kind of stuff. Especially when I’m around you.”

Petra nodded and smiled, knowing that Levi was the type who would rather be invited instead of doing the inviting, and while he assumed most people would find that infuriating, she never hesitated to drag him along, knowing that he wouldn’t go out unless otherwise told. Hange often joked that Levi didn’t make friends, friends were thrust upon him and he merely didn’t say no to it.

~*~

“Well if it isn’t Mr. and Mrs. Ackerman!” Farlan hollered, waving them by the ticket booth. The words UNDERGROUND CITY flashed above him and Isabel in all capital letters, and Isabel swung side to side in excitement. Her hair was tied in its typical pigtails and she wore skinny jeans with sneakers and a t-shirt. Farlan’s expression was lackadaisical with his neat short sleeved button down and vest.

“Stop shouting, you’re being obnoxious.” Levi said, reaching for his wallet. Petra and Isabel were already hugging and the whispers between the girls were escalating to squealing. Petra’s green sundress fluttered in the wind, wondering why she chose sandals and such a breezy outfit for a day filled with rollercoasters, but he wasn’t the one to complain about his wife’s choice in clothing.

Wordlessly, Levi paid for his and Petra’s tickets, and they walked into the amusement park with the hot summer heat trailing at their feet. Farlan sided up next to him, sneaking an annoyingly knowing look as his eyes shifted between him and Petra. “Spit it out, Farlan. And keep your voice low so you don’t embarrass Petra.”

Farlan chuckled, more than used to Levi’s antics but humored him anyway. “Please, Petra would no doubt answer _all_ of my questions at your expense, but I figured I’d hear from the man himself— _how is it_?”

“How is what?” Levi asked, noncommittally handing Petra and Isabel money to buy cotton candy as they dashed to the food kiosk.

“Oh come on! You know, _living_ with _Petra_! I know you guys technically ‘lived’ together, but I don’t think military barracks, even with a private room would be the most romantic. Are you driving her crazy with your obsessive cleaning? Or is she more of a slob than you thought? I bet she snores, or don’t tell me, _you_ started snoring, you know we’re getting older and I was always out before you were so I wouldn’t really know—“

“Was I that terrible of a roommate that you think after two weeks my wife will leave me over my living habits?” He deadpanned, taking the change from Petra as she returned with her pink cotton candy and Isabel with her blue. They grabbed a paper map from the ticket entrance and were excitedly planning out which rides to hit first, and he noticed Petra’s pink purse sliding down her arm trying as she tried to keep up with eating her confection and making animated gesticulations at the map. Nonchalantly, he tapped her right shoulder and she immediately slung the purse from her arm, handing it to him, not missing a beat with her conversation with Isabel.

“I’m just saying, you’re a dude with particular tastes. Petra’s a lucky lady of course, but it takes someone special to live with you.”

“Stop flattering yourself,” Levi said, putting Petra’s purse over his own shoulder for convenience and Farlan snorted.

“If we didn’t grow up together, I think I would’ve called it quits awhile ago. You made us clean our bunk every weekend, including scrubbing the floors, which wasn’t our job, by the way!”

“The staff never cleaned it right, and you’re the one to talk. You had a choice in high school to room with, what was his name? Robert? It was thanks to me that we never had any bed bugs, which was unheard of.”

Farlan made a face. “Potty Bobby? Hell no, he stank so bad. I’d rather deal with your clean ass than be within 10 feet of him.”

While Levi wasn’t necessarily fond of the group home that he was raised in with Isabel and Farlan, he supposed they were now old enough where they could look back and laugh. Farlan was a successful software engineer and Isabel was starting her first year of vet school that was partially funded by the both of them. They all came from parentless childhoods, and for better or for worse, they were each other’s family.

Levi’s expression softened as he saw Petra lay a hand on Isabel’s shoulder in comfort. It sounded like Isabel was worried about not seeing them until Thanksgiving break and Petra, being older and wiser, was more than happy to fulfill the older sister role. _Maybe even motherly_ , Levi added as an afterthought.

“Honestly Farlan, it’s perfect. She’s perfect,” he said softly and Farlan smiled, knowing that that was all the information he was going to get out of him for the day.

Farlan clapped him on the back, startling Levi. “I’m happy to hear it, man.”

~*~

“I don’t get it big bro, we literally went on the Colossal 2.0, _the largest drop in roller coaster history_ and you look like you’re waiting on the deli line! I don’t get it!” Isabel yelled exasperatedly, staring at the copy of the group photo that she bought. Levi called it a waste of money since they all looked like a bunch of idiots, but she insisted that it was going to be their last family photo until the holidays, and she needed to savor the moment before she ‘lost her soul to vet school.’ He knew she was only joking, she had a natural affinity for animals, but working hard for Isabel was not without good effort.

“It’s all the pilot training, Isabel,” Petra giggled, noting his stoic expression in the photo.He looked like he was adjusting his cravat as they went down the insanely steep incline, with his hair pointing upwards. Petra, Farlan, and Isabel all had equally appropriate reactions, with her clutching onto his arm as she screamed.

“Well, yeah, but so are you! I’ve seen you guys perform at the airshow and you all perform crazier stunts than a rollercoaster, why aren’t you immune?” Isabel accused.

“Honestly, it feels different to me. Being in my jet feels like coming home, and being in an airlock with a helmet on is not nearly as thrilling than the wind in your hair!”

“You better not let Eld hear you say that, Ral. Didn’t you piss your pants the first time we went on a special ops mission?” Levi teased, and Petra glowed red, despite the incident happening years ago.

“I swear to god, if it weren’t for the comms, you guys would have never known! Stupid comms, it’s like you barely have a thought to yourself for hours on end.” Levi wondered if she missed their banter like this, he knew she was only half embarrassed, and more-so reacting as they normally would when he was captain and she was his subordinate.

“While you two are bickering like an old married couple, Isabel and I are going to head to our last ride—The Titan! You sure you guys want to go on the teacups instead?” Farlan asked, snickering at Petra’s choice for their last ride. They had dinner reservations at 8 that they didn't want to miss or else they’d go together, but Petra insisted she needed to see Levi on the teacups to see if there was anything that would phase him. And given his penchant for tea, she was dead set on taking a picture of him in a teacup using the slow-mo function on her phone.

“Positive. Trust me, the pictures will be worth it. I have a feeling it’ll be our new WhatsApp sticker for the next couple of months.” She grinned cheekily.

Levi looked at the map of the amusement park, making a mental note on how long it would take to walk back to the cars from The Titan and the teacups. The Titan was supposedly the fastest rollercoaster at the park whereas The Colossal was the steepest, and Farlan and Isabel wanted to get all of their rides in before they left town.

“Well, see you guys in like 45 minutes. Meet at the car?” Farlan said, and before he could take another step, Levi felt a cold sinking feeling pool at the bottom of his gut. A familiar lightning clouded his peripheral vision, but nothing was clearer to him than the message it said in that moment. _Don’t let them go,_ it demanded, and he grabbed Farlan’s wrist and jerked it back with force.

“What the hell?” Farlan asked, but paused seeing Levi’s dark expression. “Are you okay?” Petra and Isabel shot him worried looks, as it was uncharacteristic of him to use force unless necessary.

How was Levi supposed to explain that he had a feeling that they shouldn’t go on The Titan? He would sound crazy, he never bought into horoscopes or other woohoo shit, and this wasn’t the time and place to start spewing that he had a ‘feeling.’ And what was that just now? It was familiar, and yet in all of his time as a pilot, he mostly acted on intuition and instinct, not a feeling. But it was so strong and adamant, he had to follow through on what it was saying, and just as he was about to explain the weird turn of events to his friends, deafening screams sounded in the distance, followed by a crash and groan of metal.

“Holy fuck—“ He said, turning to the source of the screams, and they watched in horror as The Titan fell apart and crashed down, knocking nearby booths, and the beams collided with a nauseating rupture. Its riders were already off its tracks, and the gruesome screams echoed throughout the park. People began to panic and made a beeline for the exit, and Levi’s resolve once again kicked in. He grabbed Petra’s hand and Isabel’s in the other and ran towards the exit, with Farlan at their heels, faces pale.

They quickly reached the parking lot, panting and out of breath. While Isabel and Farlan were not used to running at that pace, Petra and Levi gasped from horror as the sirens blared, bringing in firetrucks, police, and ambulances. It was chaos as people drove away from the park, but the four of them sat in shell shocked silence in the Ackerman’s car.

“That could’ve been us,” Isabel finally said, looking up at Levi who uncomfortably stared where The Titan once stood.

“But it wasn’t,” he replied gruffly, turning the key into the ignition. The radio sprung to life, jolting the four of them out of their shocked stupor, and _God Only Knows_ by the Beatles started to play among the sirens. Levi grit his teeth and turned the volume up as he floored the gas pedal, driving as fast as he could from the Underground City. Whatever that was, it saved his family. No use questioning it.

As he turned onto the freeway, he allowed his right hand to find Petra’s, as she was still shaking from the incident. He thumbed her engagement ring and wedding band, mostly to ground himself, but it served as a reminder of what he could have lost today if they made a different choice. He took a long breath, assuring himself that the four of them were safe, thanks to him. The radio hit the last chorus of the song, and Levi allowed himself to focus on the melody instead of the sinking feeling in his stomach.

_God only knows what I’d be without you…._

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! It's been awhile since I've posted anything, but the finale of WandaVision inspired me to write this fic. Unlike most of my works on here, this one is mostly drafted out and it looks like it will be 5 chapters long. This is my love letter to the Rivetra fandom. Comments are greatly appreciated, I hope you all enjoy it <3


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